Oleg Kononenko

Oleg Kononenko was the Expedition 30 crewmember with the most days logged in space: a total of 199. 47 years old at time of launch, he was also the youngest onboard the Soyuz TMA-3M.

He started his career in space as an engineer at the Central Design Bureau in Samara. At the age of 34, he began training as part of the group of cosmonauts selected for the International Space Station programme.

Kononenko performed two spacewalks during his first spaceflight in 2008. He spent more than 12 hours in space to outfit the Station’s exterior, including the installation of a docking target on the Zvezda service module.

The maiden flight of ATV Jules Verne, took place during that mission and during PromISSe he assisted André Kuipers during the docking manoeuvres of ATV Edoardo Amaldi.